Can't wait!

Well, here I am at the JFK airport, waiting to board a flight to Amsterdam that's been slightly delayed. After just a couple hours in Amsterdam (no, not enough to explore), we'll fly to Dar es Salaam. A long trip on not much sleep. 

It feels a little like I'm back on Term in Asia, flying around the world in a large group, getting to know the people with whom I'll be travelling, playing cards in the airport, and taking up quite a good chunk of the seating in the gate areas. The past couple of days have also felt a lot like Skogfjorden, discussing ideas about the definition of development and what might be involved in a job description as a "development facilitator," doing simulations of how a cross-cultural exchange in this particular setting might feel from both the perspective of the Volunteer and that of the local person whose culture the Volunteer is trying to understand. It's been so much fun to meet all sorts of people, all science and technology educators (or rather, we will be if we aren't already!), many of whom have recently graduated from college and some of whom know people I know. We're all super excited to be going, although I think we also share many of the same anxieties about what we might find in Tanzania.

So I'm off to Africa. Really truly beginning what I've planned for and anticipated for so long. Can't wait!

Bungee Jumping to Tanzania

This is how I feel about going to Tanzania right now- I'm diving headfirst into the unknown, excited, all-in, but with butterflies in my stomach and hearing my voice scream loudly the whole way down.

Green, Yellow, Black, and Blue

I considered naming my blog Hakuna Matata for the song in my favorite Disney movie. A Swahili phrase most people recognize meaning "there are no worries," hakuna matata is a good reminder to simply relax and let the wind carry me where it will. However, I'm not sure it represents my upcoming journey very well, since I know I will have troubles and challenges to face in the next 27 months. Still, I wanted a name more interesting and meaningful than "Liv's experience in Tanzania." 

Green, yellow, black, and blue are the colors of the Tanzanian flag as well as, with the exception of black, my favorite colors. They are the colors of the earth, the sky, the ocean, the rain, and the sunshine (and of course pineapple!). They're fresh, optimistic colors that generate memories of days gone by, joys of the present, and hope for the days to come. Maybe that sounds a bit cliche, but I find that these colors represent me, provoke in me existential thoughts about life and about the earth, and frankly, make me smile.

The next two years will, undoubtedly, be a life-changing experience for me. Through my trails and accomplishments, new relationships with both Americans and Tanzanians, and ever-developing understanding of the world, I will grow and mature (let's hope!) and become a somewhat different person. 

Sometimes I think- I've travelled all over Europe and Asia, lived with a host family in Thailand, learned other languages, so really, how hard can this Peace Corps thing be? It's a lot of the same thing for an extended period of time, right? -Except for the fact that I'll be forced by necessity to become entirely fluent in another language, unlike the time I've spent studying a language for fun. And I'll be in Africa, a continent on which I've never stepped foot and about which I know very little. Plus, I'll be teaching, a trade for which I am not trained and have never had any serious desire to do beyond working at Skogfjorden. 

It's a bit scary to think that I have no idea what's ahead in my life. I don't know exactly what I'll be eating, who I'll be hanging out with, how I will spend my time, how much access to electricity, the internet, and the outside world I will have, how I will accomplish daily tasks such as grocery shopping or going to the post office or even attaining safe drinking water, how well I will be able to teach, etc. It's all a complete mystery at this point. But I have to keep reminding myself that the excitement and the butterflies in my stomach are part of the experience. 

So, in less than two days, I will board a plane to Philadelphia, PA for a couple days of registration, intense pre-training, and last minute vaccinations. And on Tuesday the 16th of September, I will be on my way to Peace Corps training in Tanzania. I'll miss you all very much and hope to hear from you by mail and email. I'll keep you updated on my adventures as much as possible as well!